Jane Austen the Novelist: Essays Past and Present

219 Pages·1995·18.705 MB·English

by  Juliet McMaster

JANE AUSTEN THE NOVELIST
Also by Juliet McMaster
DICKENS THE DESIGNER
JANE AUSTEN'S ACHIEVEMENT (editor)
JANE AUSTEN ON LOVE
THE NOVEL FROM STERNE TO JAMES
(co-author with Rowland McMaster)
THACKERAY: THE MAJOR NOVELS
TROLLOPE'S PALLISER NOVELS
Jane Austen the
Novelist
Essays Past and Present
Juliet McMaster
£fl
First published in Great Britain 1996 by
« MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-59926-8
First published in the United States of America 1996 by
ft ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-12753-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McMaster, Juliet.
Jane Austen the novelist : essays past and present / Juliet
McMaster.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-12753-7
1. Austen, Jane, 1775-1817—Criticism and interpretation.
2. Women and literature—England—History—19th century. I. Title.
PR4037.M35 1996
823'.7—dc20 95-14700
CIP
©Juliet McMaster 1996
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
Road, London W1P9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
To Valentine and Hugh,
kind sister and brother-in-law,
with lasting affection,
and thanks for your years of toleration and support
of my Jane Austen doings

Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Texts and Abbreviations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiv
Parti
1 Jane Austen as a Cultural Phenomenon 3
2 Teaching "Love and Freindship" 18
3 "The Beautifull Cassandra" Illustrated 36
4 Hospitality 47
5 "God Gave Us Our Relations": The Watson Family 59
6 "Acting by Design" in Pride and Prejudice 76
7 The Secret Languages of Emma 90
Part II
Love in Jane Austen's Novels - A Preface to Chapters 8-11 109
8 The Symptoms of Love 111
9 Surface and Subsurface 133
10 Love and Pedagogy 150
11 Women in Love 173
Index 199
Vll
List of Illustrations
Genealogies in "Love and Freindship" 31
"Cassandra was the Daughter and the only Daughter of a
celebrated Millener in Bond Street" 37
"She placed it on her gentle Head & walked from her Mother's
shop to make her Fortune" 40
"She next ascended a Hackney Coach and ordered it to
Hampstead" 42
vin
Texts and Abbreviations
References to Jane Austen's works are to R. W. Chapman's editions:
The Novels of Jane Austen, ed. R. W. Chapman, 5 vols, 3rd edition
(London: Oxford University Press, 1932-4), 5th impression.
Minor Works, ed. R. W. Chapman (London: Oxford University
Press, 1954), reprinted with revisions 1963.
Jane Austen's Letters to her Sister Cassandra and Others, ed. R. W.
Chapman, 2nd edition (London: Oxford University Press, 1952).
E Emma
Letters Jane Austen's Letters to her Sister Cassandra and Others
MP Mansfield Park
MW Minor Works
NA Northanger Abbey
P Persuasion
PP Pride and Prejudice
SS Sense and Sensibility
IX